Southern Illinois Healthcare announces workforce reductions in 'last ... - WPSD Local 6

CARBONDALE, IL — Southern Illinois Healthcare has announced the elimination or reorganization of 76 positions within senior leadership, management, and corporate services, in what President and CEO Rex Budde says was "truly a last resort."

According to a release from SIH, 33 of the positions were already vacant and "displaced team members" will receive severance packages, benefits counseling, and appointments with recruiters to review and apply for other internal job postings. 

"Everyone involved in this decision understands the personal toll on those affected and the blow this has on the entire SIH family. People are the reason for our success," Budde said in a statement included in the release. 

According to SIH, the decision came as a result of ongoing financial complications impacting the nation's hospitals. The goal was to consolidate leadership and streamline non-clinical operations, the release explains, and no direct patient care positions were eliminated. 

They say their forecasted operational loss has decreased from $89 million at the start of the fiscal year to $50 million with a "great deal of effort." 

"SIH faces a budget shortfall which exceeds our achievements, as well as unprecedented uncertainty in the overall healthcare environment," Budde explained, saying the workforce reduction will bring costs closer in line to revenue projections, allowing them to "continue our mission of providing care to all people in the communities we serve."